J.P. Wiser's Triple Barrel Rye

One cannot discuss Canadian spirits without looking to Canada's most versatile producer, by far; Windsor's Hiram Walker Distillery. More than just whisky, this truly massive distillery churns out millions upon millions of bottles every year ranging from brown to clear to all kinds of coloured liqueurs. There are few bottle shops on earth that don't sell something which passed through a still, warehouse, or bottling line in this mild corner of Southwestern Ontario. 

As a Canadian distillery, though, the public focus is invariably on the whisky they make here, and they make a lot of it too. Whiskies from Canadian Club, Gibson's Finest, and other brands are made here, but today the distillery is first and foremost the home of J.P. Wiser's wide portfolio of whisky.

Founded in 1857, Wiser's can make the claim to be Canada's oldest extant whisky brand, beating out Canadian Club by one year! As with the namesake of the distillery, John Philip Wiser was an American who crossed into what would become Canada to distill whisky. He started in Prescott, Ontario and grew the distillery into a massive produced at home and for export. As Wiser's distillery grew, they became trailblazers in offering whisky for sale by the bottle at a time when whole-cask sales were common. In time, the distillery would be incorporated into Canadian spirits company Corby and, along with Gooderham and Worts, moved production to Windsor. 

 

From entry level bottlings like Special Blend and Deluxe up to increasingly audacious efforts (a 23 year old blend at cask strength!), this age old brand has repositioned itself at the forefront of innovation in the country. Frequent one-off and regional releases tend to garner critical praise as the brand has wholeheartedly embraced the new direction of the whisky market. Much of this is due to the work of Master Blender, Dr. Don Livermore, who has taken on a public role as ambassador not only for his distillery but for Canadian whisky in general. 

Toward the value end of the Wiser's lineup, Triple Barrel Rye is a response to ballooning demand for rye-forward whisky. Variations of this bottling exist for Europe, Australia, and the US, but here at home this is a blend of pot- and column-distilled rye. The former highlights the spicy side of rye with the latter more grain-forward. The namesake three barrels are new American oak with a relatively light char, first fill ex-Bourbon casks (meaning they were used once in Kentucky before being sent to Canada), and older multiuse barrels from amongst the millions on hand. The blend is bottled at the slightly elevated 43.4% and comes in a thoughtfully ergonomic bottle perfect for gripping and pouring. It's an entry level big rye and is a terrific jumping off point for those looking to explore the grain.

J.P. Wiser's Triple Barrel Rye 

(Canadian edition)

43.4% alc./vol.

$33 at LCBO

The nose is oaky with pronounced sweet prune. Grainy rye, biscuit notes, and florality are also in there. There's a warm spiciness and some honey to round out the luscious bouquet.

On the palate, there is initial manuka honey bringing floral sweetness and a warming, oaky rye spice undertone. That sweet honey note becomes delicately floral, suggesting rose petals. Beneath, the rye becomes sharper and hotter, graduating to a flash of white hot pepper. This is slightly tempered by well-integrated oak and it's subtle vanilla sweetness. It's all set against the florality and subtle honeydew and clove notes.

The finish is short but focused, with plenty of hot rye. Cinnamon and white pepper bring the heat, set against tannic oak that imparts almost a red wine richness. The finish fades quickly but has already brought plenty of heat.

All in all, Triple Barrel is a straightforward, but very well balanced whisky that doesn't shy away from big rye flavours. It has that raw electricity that only rye can give, but it's so nicely integrated. It would be my go-to for rye cocktails, with its dusty heat and subtle sweetness. As a sipper, this will please those who enjoy their rye on the hot side, like Alberta Springs 10 year.

Compared to that bottle, Triple Barrel is more floral but less tart. The two compare quite nicely; I'd definitely recommend tasting them side by side. Compared to Canadian Club 100% Rye, Triple Barrel has less of a bitter citrus note. The sweetness here is more subtly fruity and floral, rather than the butterscotch of the CC. 

This is a very nice, budget friendly, rye-forward bottling from J.P. Wiser's. It's a go-to for cocktailing but also an enjoyable sipper for those who like their rye sharp and hot. Not terribly complex, but balanced and focused, this is a great budget bottle that I'd keep on hand any time.

Heatseeker Score: 85

Category Score: 88

Characteristic: Spicy and Floral

^ Customised transport trucks bring barrels to the Walkerville bottling facility from the warehouses in the suburb of Pike Creek, and back again.

Crown Royal Northern Harvest

As with the iconic purple-bagged Crown Royal De Luxe, no Canadian whisky discussion can ignore Crown's Northern Harvest Rye bottling. Or at least not since 2016, when it was awarded World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible, the foremost authority on whisky rankings. Enthusiasts were surprised, to say the least, that a $30 whisky from Canada beat out ancient single malts. In Scotland, there were howls of outrage that Mr. Murray had betrayed his nation and whisky fans worldwide greeted the decision with anything from excitement to indignation. 

Still, Northern Harvest flew off every shelf across Canada and bottles were listed for resale on the international secondary market for tens of thousands of dollars. Now, there's something to be said, and that's the reality that the first release which Jim Murray tried is not the same as subsequent releases in which Crown Royal scrambled to meet unlimited demand. Though this bottle didn't start the trend toward big, rye-forward Canadian whisky, it certainly kicked it into high gear.

The bottle now widely available is 90% rye and retails Canada-wide for under $40. Is this bottling the best whisky in the world? Probably not. But is it the best whisky in the world under $40? That's quite possible. 

Since Northern Harvest won its 2016 award, the trend toward big rye-forward whisky has only picked up steam, and there are now plenty of options at this price point and above. Some will point to Lot 40 as being the superior affordable big rye, but Northern Harvest continues to win legions of fans and global awards alike. Whether or not it's the best whisky on Earth, it's absolutely worth picking up and enjoying, so that every rye fan can judge for themself. 

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

40% alc./vol.

$36 at LCBO

On the nose, Northern Harvest doesn't open with the spice notes you might expect from such a prominent rye. Instead, dark stone fruit, sweet butterscotch, pear, and even bright citrus. The rye comes in a little later as a dry, sharp heat and the suggestion of dill, but it isn't the dominant note by any stretch. 

The palate is quite buttery and viscous. Strong butterscotch flavours emerge first before the awaited rye explodes in a flash of heat. I don't find this burst of rye to be as complex as in Alberta Springs, for example, it's mostly just hot at first. It's quite a jarring start to a tasting but Northern Harvest soon settles in and rewards our patience. 

Compelling ginger and baking spices lead the reinvention of this whisky as a balanced, complex dram. The heat quickly dims to a background glow and the butterscotch falls into balance as a nice undertone to vanilla and oak. The now-restrained spice is complimented by nutmeg, clove, black liquorice, and dried orange - it's Christmas!  

The heat picks up again on the finish. Mostly that's in the form of cinnamon but there is a slight, off-putting alcohol burn. Very slight though. The oak comes to the fore alongside dry grain character, which finally brings the dusty, dry Prairie character you might expect throughout. A touch of bitter citrus rind joins in but the finish is mostly a drying, hot, and long one, and it leaves you wanting another sip.

So, is this the best whisky in the world? Probably not. It's not even the best whisky in Canada. But it's easily one of the best whiskies in the world under $40. And it's certainly one of the biggest, most intense drams you can find. If you can get past the challenging first sip, you're in for a rewarding rye bursting with warmth and midwinter flavour. 

So it may not be the best in the world, but it is fantastic whisky. Most people think 'smooth' when they think Crown, which makes sense. This bottle, though, is the exact opposite; there's none of Crown's devotion to smoothness, only to the intensity of flavour readily on display. This is a demanding and rewarding whisky and for less than $40, I dont know of any bottle packing in quite so much. For the drinker looking to awaken their tastebuds, this is your whisky. Such big, brash flavours usually only come to those who shell out for cask strength bottlings, certainly not value-priced bottles like this one.

If Crown Royal decided one day to release an older Northern Harvest with more time to smooth out the youthful brashness then look out world, you may have found the real best in show. But until then, this is the affordable whisky that delivers massive flavour to those ready for it.

Heatseeker Score: 87

Category Score: 93

Characteristic: Warming

Canadian Club 1858

Canadian Club needs no introduction as one of Canada's best known exports and a staple of bars across the country. Alongside Crown Royal, 'CC' is a wildly popular brand based around a value blend. It's history goes back to the 1850s in Detroit, Michigan. Hiram Walker, a grocer, began distilling but was forced out when the state, along with many others, enacted Prohibition. Not wishing to see his burgeoning enterprise thwarted, Mr. Walker moved his distillery across the river - and across the border. 

He founded Windsor's Walkerville neighbourhood and opened what would eventually become one of the world's largest distilleries. It's location just across the river from the United States meant it was a perfect place for rum runners to smuggle barrels into Michigan, and onto the rest of the country.

His whisky eventually became known as 'Club Whisky' due to its popularity in gentlemen's clubs across North America. Distillers in the States grew angry at the lost market share and convinced the government to force Mr. Walker to label his whisky as 'Canadian,' in hopes American customers would reject it. The move backfired, however, and both Canadian Club's new name and Canada's whisky style became the symbol of smooth, enjoyable whisky for millions of fans. Interestingly, and in spite of its Royally-named rival, Canadian Club remains the only whisky from outside the UK to have been granted Royal Warrants, having enjoyed them from Queen Victoria onward to Queen Elizabeth.

The world-famous flagship bottling is known as '1858' though most simply know it as Canadian Club. A recent redesign cleaned up the label and highlights the '1858' name, but this will always be what comes when you call for a CC at the bar.

However you order it, this whisky consists of a blend of malted and unmalted rye, malted barley, and corn, aged for about six years in multiuse American oak barrels, some of which can be many decades old. The cask influence is not going to be particularly strong on this whisky, but the added couple years in oak compensates for that.

The Canadian Club brand is now enjoyed in over 150 countries and has always been a Canadian staple. Its popular in Australia and Japan (extremely so, apparently), and has enjoyed a big boost in the States due to its prevalence on TV's Mad Men. It's one of those whiskies that forms the bedrock of the Canadian category as an affordable, smooth blend with the requisite hint of rye spice. It will work in any whisky cocktail and is perfectly enjoyable as an easy sipper too - a solid bet at bars anywhere in the world.

Canadian Club 1858
40% alc./vol.
$25-$29 widely available across Canada

The nose opens sweet with linalool (like Froot Loops) and lots of florality, not unlike a light, citrusy gin. There's some peppery oak, dark fruit, and butterscotch. I get some marmalade and a whisper of rye spice. 

The palate brings a typically sweet butterscotch opening but things get interesting afterward. When recording tasting notes, I found myself drawing an upward trendline and that's exactly how I'd describe the experience once sipped. Everything builds upward toward a rising, brisk rye finish. Along the way, orange zest, caramel, tobacco, bitter citrus rind, and a fleeting fresh forest-y note. Then the rye hits with brief, scorching flash of habanero heat before settling only a little into the finish.

The medium length of the finish brings more bitter notes, some caramel, and tongue-tingling heat from the rye. 

For a basic, massively-produced whisky, this is surprisingly complex and bold. Actually looking back, I suspect the recipe may have been tweaked somewhat in recent years to amp up some of the clean oak and rye spice. Whether or not that's true, this is terrific whisky. 

You could call it smooth if you wanted to, as a compliment, but you wouldn't use smooth to insult this whisky. What do I mean by that? In the enthusiast community, smooth often means simplistic and overly sweet; easy to drink because it doesn't challenge the palate. It's more often a term of derision than anything, and one that might be leveled at CC's shelfmates (Crown, Black Velvet, Canadian Mist, VO) rightly or wrongly. But Canadian Club isn't too simplistic or sweet. It actually provides a sipping experience that is more intriguing than you'd expect for a ubiquitous entry-level bottle. 

Let's not overstate It; this doesn't pack the bargain basement punch of Alberta Springs nor the complexity of decades-old bottlings - and of course it doesn't. But it is a very enjoyable whisky that offers substantially more intrigue than you'd expect. For that reason, it's a bottle I'll always keep on hand, just like every bar in the country.

Heatseeker Score: 84

Category Score: 88

Characteristic: Floral

Please also enjoy our reviews of Canadian Club 100% Rye and Classic 12 Year.